2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	24–12 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach	Rob Senderoff (14th season);
Assistant coaches	Randal Holt (4th season); Jon Fleming (3rd season); Jalen Avery (1st season); Luke Trondson (1st season); Tommy Luce (1st season);
Home arena	MAC Center
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Akron †	17	–	1	.944	28	–	7	.800
Miami (OH)	14	–	4	.778	25	–	9	.735
Kent State	11	–	7	.611	24	–	12	.667
Toledo	10	–	8	.556	18	–	15	.545
Ohio	10	–	8	.556	16	–	16	.500
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Eastern Michigan	9	–	9	.500	16	–	16	.500
Bowling Green	8	–	10	.444	14	–	18	.438
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	14	–	17	.452
Central Michigan	7	–	11	.389	14	–	17	.452
Buffalo	4	–	14	.222	9	–	22	.290
Northern Illinois	2	–	16	.111	6	–	25	.194

† 2025 MAC tournament winner

The 2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 14th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2023–24 season 17–17, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in eighth place.^[1] They upset top-seeded Toledo^[2] and Bowling Green,^[3] before falling to Akron in the MAC tournament championship game.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Julius Rollins	0	G	6'7"	199	RS Sophomore	Chicago, Illinois	Transferred to Western Illinois
Reggie Bass	2	G	6'3"	185	Sophomore	Muncie, Indiana	Transferred to Lindenwood
Chris Payton Jr.	4	F	6'7"	226	Graduate student	Bloomington, Illinois	Exhausted eligibility
Giovanni Santiago	11	G	6'1"	170	RS Senior	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Exhausted eligibility
Tyem Freeman	22	G	6'5"	206	Graduate student	Springfield, Missouri	Transferred to UIC
LA Hayes	24	G	6'5"	181	Freshman	Cleveland, Ohio	Transferred to Frank Phillips College
Jake Snyder	31	G	6'1"	175	Graduate student	Stow, Ohio	Exhausted eligibility

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Marquis Barnett	2	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Saginaw, Michigan	Presbyterian
Jamal Sumlin	4	G	6'3"	180	RS Sophomore	Cleveland, Ohio	Northwest Florida State College
Morgan Safford	8	G	6'5"	210	Graduate student	Columbus, Ohio	Miami (OH)
Cian Medley	11	G	5'11"	165	Sophomore	Sicklerville, New Jersey	Saint Louis
Anthony Morales	22	F	6'8"	195	Graduate student	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston University

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight
Jonas Nichols G	Akron, Ohio	Archbishop Hoban High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	206 lb (93 kg)
Jonas Nichols G	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (78)
Deandre Jones F	Cleveland, Ohio	Garfield Heights High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Deandre Jones F	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
Derrick Lee Jr. F	Novi, Michigan	IMG Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)
Derrick Lee Jr. F	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
Drew Huffman F	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio	Cuyahoga Falls High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	223 lb (101 kg)
Drew Huffman F	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
Jaiden Pennicott G	Ajax, Ontario	Oakville Prep	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	164 lb (74 kg)
Jaiden Pennicott G	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Preseason

On October 22, 2024 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Kent State was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season. Kent State received 3 votes to win the MAC Tournament.^[5]

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Ohio	121 (11)
2	Akron	106 (1)
3	Kent State	99
4	Toledo	95
5	Bowling Green	73
6	Miami (OH)	72
7	Ball State	67
8	Central Michigan	55
9	Eastern Michigan	36
10	Western Michigan	33
11	Northern Illinois	24
12	Buffalo	11

MAC Tournament Champions: Ohio (8), Kent State (3), Toledo (1)

Source^[5]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams
Team	Player	Position	Year
1st	VonCameron Davis	F	R-Sr.
2nd	Jalen Sullinger	G	Sr.

Source^[5]

Roster

2024–25 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jonas Nichols	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Archbishop Hoban High School	Akron, Ohio
F	1	VonCameron Davis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	229 lb (104 kg)	RS Sr	Walnut Ridge High School	Columbus, Ohio
G	2	Marquis Barnett	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Presbyterian	Saginaw, Michigan
G	4	Jamal Sumlin	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS So	Northwest Florida State College	Cleveland, Ohio
G	5	Brenden Moss	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	Minnesota Prep	Rockford, Illinois
G	8	Morgan Safford	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Miami (OH)	Columbus, Ohio
G	11	Cian Medley	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	So	Saint Louis	Sicklerville, New Jersey
G	13	Jalen Sullinger	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	Sr	Thomas Worthington High School	Columbus, Ohio
F	14	Magnus Entenmann	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS So	International Sports Academy	Columbus, Ohio
G	15	Mike Bekelja	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	GS	Duquesne	Solon, Ohio
F	21	Deandre Jones	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Garfield Heights High School	Cleveland, Ohio
F	22	Anthony Morales	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	GS	Boston University	Boston, Massachusetts
F	23	Delrecco Gillespie	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	Jr	East Coweta High School	Benton Harbor, Michigan
F	41	Derrick Lee Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	IMG Academy	Novi, Michigan
C	42	Cli'Ron Hornbeak	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Sr	St. Francis de Sales School	Toledo, Ohio
F	55	Donovan Hunter	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	So	SPIRE Institute	Columbus, Ohio
F		Drew Huffman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	Fr	Cuyahoga Falls High School	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
G		Jaiden Pennicott	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	164 lb (74 kg)	Fr	Oakville Prep	Ajax, Ontario

Head coach

Rob Senderoff (Albany)

Assistant coach(es)

Randal Holt (Kent State)
Jon Fleming (Kent State)
Jalen Avery (Kent State)
Luke Trondson (Ohio State)
Tommy Luce (Purdue)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 12, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana MAC-SBC Challenge	W 70–66	1–0	17 – Davis	9 – Safford	3 – Sullinger	Cajundome (1,412) Lafayette, LA
November 8, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Miami Hamilton	W 98–53	2–0	18 – Tied	9 – Hornbeak	6 – Sullinger	MAC Center (2,056) Kent, OH
November 13, 2024* 8:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+		at No. 5 Auburn	L 56–79	2–1	19 – Davis	7 – Hornbeak	2 – Medley	Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
November 21, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Niagara	W 76–73	3–1	17 – Safford	7 – Safford	4 – Medley	MAC Center (1,886) Kent, OH
November 23, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cleveland State	W 68–52	4–1	11 – Tied	11 – Hornbeak	5 – Davis	Wolstein Center (2,019) Cleveland, OH
November 28, 2024* 9:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Towson Western Slam	W 65–54	5–1	18 – Davis	6 – Safford	3 – Tied	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,256) Lethbridge, AB
November 29, 2024* 9:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. UC Irvine Western Slam	L 39–51	5–2	9 – Gillespie	7 – Hornbeak	2 – Tied	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,478) Lethbridge, AB
November 30, 2024* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Kennesaw State Western Slam	W 67–60	6–2	16 – Davis	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	VisitLethbridge.com Arena (1,603) Lethbridge, AB
December 6, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Portland	W 76–57	7–2	16 – Davis	11 – Safford	6 – Medley	MAC Center (1,374) Kent, OH
December 15, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Mercyhurst	W 82–57	8–2	17 – Davis	6 – Hornbeak	4 – Medley	MAC Center (1,376) Kent, OH
December 22, 2024* 1:00 pm, SECN		at No. 6 Alabama	L 54–81	8–3	9 – Tied	9 – Hornbeak	2 – Barnett	Coleman Coliseum (12,198) Tuscaloosa, AL
December 29, 2024* 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Heidelberg	W 84–80	9–3	25 – Sullinger	10 – Hornbeak	5 – Tied	MAC Center (2,960) Kent, OH
January 4, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Ball State	L 67–75	9–4 (0–1)	20 – Davis	5 – Tied	4 – Tied	MAC Center (1,608) Kent, OH
January 7, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	W 68–50	10–4 (1–1)	31 – Davis	11 – Hornbeak	5 – Medley	Convocation Center (1,004) DeKalb, IL
January 10, 2025 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Buffalo	W 68–49	11–4 (2–1)	20 – Davis	8 – Tied	8 – Medley	Alumni Arena (1,448) Amherst, NY
January 14, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Michigan	L 83–94	11–5 (2–2)	32 – Sullinger	9 – Gillespie	9 – Medley	MAC Center (1,488) Kent, OH
January 18, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Miami (OH)	L 61–70	11–6 (2–3)	15 – Medley	8 – Gillespie	5 – Davis	MAC Center (3,054) Kent, OH
January 21, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Toledo	W 83–64	12–6 (3–3)	22 – Medley	8 – Sumlin	7 – Medley	Savage Arena (3,983) Toledo, OH
January 24, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Ohio	L 59–61	12–7 (3–4)	13 – Tied	11 – Hornbeak	3 – Medley	Convocation Center (5,134) Athens, OH
January 28, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bowling Green	W 75–57	13–7 (4–4)	24 – Davis	7 – Gillespie	10 – Medley	MAC Center (1,988) Kent, OH
January 31, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Akron	L 71–85	13–8 (4–5)	23 – Sullinger	8 – Tied	2 – Tied	MAC Center (6,327) Kent, OH
February 4, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 70–49	14–8 (5–5)	15 – Davis	18 – Gillespie	6 – Medley	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,696) Ypsilanti, MI
February 8, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Arkansas State MAC–SBC Challenge	W 76–75	15–8	27 – Sullinger	9 – Gillespie	4 – Tied	MAC Center (1,746) Kent, OH
February 11, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 91–83	16–8 (6–5)	28 – Barnett	14 – Gillespie	7 – Medley	MAC Center (1,280) Kent, OH
February 14, 2025 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Ohio	W 76–75	17–8 (7–5)	24 – Medley	12 – Gillespie	3 – Davis	MAC Center (2,113) Kent, OH
February 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bowling Green	W 91–84	18–8 (8–5)	32 – Sullinger	7 – Tied	7 – Sumlin	Stroh Center (1,418) Bowling Green, OH
February 21, 2025 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Miami (OH)	L 92–96 ^OT	18–9 (8–6)	20 – Tied	12 – Gillespie	5 – Sumlin	Millett Hall (6,339) Oxford, OH
February 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Toledo	W 105–65	19–9 (9–6)	21 – Davis	9 – Hornbeak	7 – Sumlin	MAC Center (2,104) Kent, OH
February 28, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Akron	L 72–77	19–10 (9–7)	19 – Sullinger	8 – Gillespie	5 – Medley	James A. Rhodes Arena (4,967) Akron, OH
March 4, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Michigan	W 77–76	20–10 (10–7)	31 – Sullinger	18 – Gillespie	8 – Medley	University Arena (1,503) Kalamazoo, MI
March 7, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Michigan	W 76–70	21–10 (11–7)	18 – Sullinger	6 – Hornbeak	3 – Tied	MAC Center (2,231) Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 13, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Western Michigan Quarterfinals	W 73–66	22–10	18 – Barnett	10 – Gillespie	5 – Medley	Rocket Arena (8,737) Cleveland, OH
March 14, 2025 7:30 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Miami (OH) Semifinals	L 64–72	22–11	29 – Sullinger	12 – Gillespie	3 – Medley	Rocket Arena (7,738) Cleveland, OH
NIT
March 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at (3) St. Bonaventure First round – San Francisco Region	W 75–56	23–11	14 – Tied	12 – Hornbeak	4 – Sumlin	Reilly Center (3,024) St. Bonaventure, NY
March 23, 2025 9:00 pm, ESPN2		at (2) Stanford Second round – San Francisco Region	W 77–75	24–11	34 – Sullinger	14 – Gillespie	5 – Sullinger	Maples Pavilion (1,542) Stanford, CA
March 26, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at Loyola Chicago Quarterfinals – San Francisco Region	L 62–72	24–12	12 – Sullinger	12 – Gillespie	4 – Medley	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,554) Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.